Upcoming Area Art Happenings: July 2024

OPPORTUNITY

Applications are open for the 53rd Annual Renaissance Arts Faire, set to take place on Nov. 2-3 at Young Park in Las Cruces. This event is an opportunity for entrepreneurs, artists, food vendors and non-profit organizations to showcase their talents. Interested artist applicants can visit zapplication.org to complete the online application form. The deadline for submission is Aug. 16. Early applications are encouraged and a payment plan is available. Interested food/non-profit applicants can apply at the Doña Ana Arts Council office or request an application to the email admin@daarts.org. For organizations interested in sponsoring the Renaissance Arts Faire and for more information on how to get involved and support this ongoing event visit the council office at 230 S. Water St. Las Cruces, NM. Volunteers are also needed.  For information contact event coordinator Nikayla Rios at 575-523-6403.

SILVER CITY

• The Grant County Art Guild Gallery, 316 N Bullard in Silver City, will be open all day on July 4.  July 5, 5-7 p.m., during July’s First Friday gallery walk, there is a “Meet the Artist” event at the gallery featuring clay artist July Menefee. Menefee will share the artistic and technical processes of creating her Mimbres inspired work. Raw materials, work in progress, and finished art will illustrate the progression. Refreshments will be served. Also in July, the Guild will be resuming the twice monthly Open Studios, which allow people to go in and practice creativity in the company of local creatives. Bring your own project or use our supplies – free of charge. Open studios are held at the GCAG Studio, 211 N Texas on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. Join the email list at studio@gcag.org and we will add you to our event notification list. The GCAG Gallery, 316 N Bullard, is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week, with additional hours for special events. To learn more about the guild, enjoy a slide show of work by gallery artists, or see the gallery, studio and off-site event calendar, visit gcag.org. 

• July is all about CLAY. Light Art Space, 209 W. Broadway in Silver City, features two clay exhibitions July 4-27. Opening on July 4 in the North gallery is “From the Earth,” a juried exhibition of work by 28 artists from across the county. In the Flash Gallery an exhibition of work by Juror Jared Tso is on display. The opening reception for both exhibitions is 5-7 p.m. on First Friday, July 5 and a closing reception will be held on Saturday, July 27, during the Silver City CLAY festival. The gallery is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday; and by appointment. Info: lightartspace.com.

• a)s p…”A”© e   Studio•Art•Gallery presents “Dream Devas,” paintings by Ann Lowe. Lowe said she set an intention and opened a space to merge forms with the canvasses she prepares with wrinkles. “When I start painting I look into the wrinkles and that’s when the Deva shapes emerge,” she said. “I never know what will appear.” The gallery is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday, 110 West 7th St., in Silver City. Info: aspace.studiogallery@gmail.com, 575-538-3333.

ALAMOGORDO

• Otero Arts presents a trio of emerging artists in July. The exhibit will feature three women artists, Carla Kerr, Karen Townsend, and Pamela Vigo Sanchez who have begun painting and drawing in recent years. Kerr is an author and actress who recently was part of the cast of the play “Ghost Town” that premiered at the Artspace in 2023. Townsend also began painting recently. Like many, she developed an interest in art during her high school years under the instruction of her art teacher. After a career as a dental tech and raising children, she recently returned to studying painting. Vigo Sanchez has had a long-time love of horses. She began sketching and then transitioned to ink drawings with watercolors and graphics to capture a horse’s many moods. The exhibition opens with a reception 5-8 p.m. on July 5 at the Artspace, 1118 Indiana Avenue. The gallery is open 1-4 p.m. Thursday to Sunday every week. Info: oteroarts.org.

CLOUDCROFT

• The Cloudcroft Art Society (CAS) is once again proud to invite everyone to its 4th of July Art Show at the Nivison Library/Community Center in Cloudcroft. The CAS show will be held in the back room of the building, please enter through the side entrance as repairs are ongoing to the front. The exhibit features original art works by CAS members to include paintings in several media, photography and photo-artistic art, pottery, basketry, glass work, gourd art, greeting cards and more. Show dates and hours are 10 a.m-5 p.m. Saturday July 6 and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday July 7. The gallery is open throughout the summer from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday. This year’s exhibits feature original art works by CAS members to include paintings in several media, photography and photo-artistic art, pottery, basketry, greeting cards and more. Info: ccartsociety@gmail.com.

DEMING

• The Potter’ s Guild of Las Cruces presents the July 2024 Fire and Fiber Show at the Deming Art Center. There are 18 artisans and more than 30 artworks. Works vary from elaborate pottery and macrame hangings to fine figurative sculpture with a bit of fiber. There are ravens, tortoises, and ancient cliff dwellings to a warrior goddess with a tile and fiber crown. All work is for sale.

There will be a time to meet the artists, 1-2:30 p.m., Sunday, July 7. The Deming Art Center is at 100 S. Gold St., Deming. The gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday. Info: 575-546-3663 and at www.demingarts.org.

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

• RioBravoFineArt, 110 North Broadway in Truth or Consequences, presents “The Quest, The Struggle, The Journey,” a retrospective of work by Dave Barnett will be up through July 21. Barnett is one of New Mexico’s most talented and original painters, and this much anticipated show will fill all three of the main-level gallery spaces. Barnett creates bold images of Southwestern flora and fauna, bosque and mountain landscapes, small town street scenes, and geologic formations, both large and small. Rio Bravo Fine Arts Gallery is at 110 N. Broadway in Truth or Consequences. Info: www.riobravofineartgallery.com.

LAS CRUCES

• At the Las Cruces Museum of Art, “Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Art” spotlights the works of nine contemporary Japanese artists who explore the artistic potential of handmade washi by pushing its boundaries in terms of texture, dimension, and scale. The exhibit is on view through Aug. 10. The museum is located at 491 N. Main St. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Info: www.lascruces.gov/museums or 575-541-2137.

• The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery, 2470-A Calle de Guadalupe, across from the historic Fountain Theatre features two local artists for the month of July: Noel Sandino and John Glass.

Sandino is a multi-disciplinary abstract artist who uses bold colors and expressive ideas in her fine art printmaking. Glass, a watercolorist, is originally from rural Indiana and settled in the mountains outside of Deming. His pursuit of art is a daily routine. From 4-6 p.m. on July 6 the gallery celebrates Frida Kahlo’s birthday with a party and display of Kahlo inspired artwork. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Info: 575-522-2933, mesillavalleyfinearts.com.

• “Making as Knowing · When I was Here, Thinking of There” will run through July 20 in New Mexico State University’s Devasthali Hall and features work from MFA candidates Karly Jean Kainz and Blanca Martinez as they explore ideas of home and personal ritual. From 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 13, “Loteria Game Nights” will close out the summer activities. Martinez invites the community to join her in playing Loteria, a tradition and game that has inspired some of her work in the exhibition. Curated in response to the exhibition and its events, UAM Collections Curator Courtney Uldrich and graduate assistant Olivia Juedeman are presenting a selection of works from NMSU’s Permanent Art Collection. “Selections from the NMSU Permanent Art Collection: 2024 MFA Thesis Exhibition” which will open alongside the MFA exhibition and run until July 20. Visit uam.nmsu.edu for more information on the artists and the exhibition. The UAM is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday at 1308 E. University Ave. in Las Cruces.